Kracko

Kracko is a living cloud that has appeared as a recurring boss throughout the Portal: Kirby series. There is also a smaller version known as Kracko Jr., which sometimes appears as a separate miniboss. Kracko resembles a large, puffy cumulus cloud that has one eye and has yellow spikes protruding from his body, while his Junior form resembles an eyeball surrounded by four orbs.

Background

In Kirby: Planet Robobot, Kracko's description states that he has been believed to have inhabited the skies of Pop Star since ancient times. One of his attacks involves producing enemies such as Waddle Doos. He also drops bombs as Kracko Jr. or releases bolts of lightning in his true form. He has also sometimes been able to summon heavy rainball ot star beams as attacks. In some games, they also summon miniature counterparts known as Co-Krackos. Kracko has ended up working under King Dedede in some of his schemes, as well as some of the other villains of the series.

Kracko originally appeared in Kirby's Dream Land as the boss of the Bubbly Clouds and the last boss faced before Kirby could access the final world of Mt. Dedede. He was first battled as Kracko Jr. in one stage of the world, before retreating and then being battled as Kracko at the end of the world. Kracko fulfilled te same role in Spring Breeze, the remake present in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra, but with the addition of a new rain storm attack. In Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, Kracko was entrusted with a piece of the Star Rod by Dedede and acted as the boss of the fourth world, Grape Garden. For the first phase of the battle, Kirby had to ascend through the clouds while avoiding Kracko, who attacked as Kracko Jr. Eventually, Kirby could stop in one area of the clouds, where Kracko Jr. transformed into Kracko's normal form and proceeded to fight Kirby. Kracko could be defeated with the Hi-Jump ability. Kracko also appeared in Kirby's Pinball Land as the boss of a stage called Kracko Land. He initially appeared as Kracko Jr. and transformed into Kracko after being hit enough times.

In Kirby's Dream Land 2, Kracko was the boss of Cloudy Park. In the first phase of the battle, Kracko Jr. started off as part of the cloud that Kirby was standing on, before detaching from it to attack him. This was the first time that he released Co-Krackos to help him in battle. He also tried to attack Kirby by deploying his orbs. After being hit enough times, he transformed into the normal version of Kracko. Kracko also appeared as a course hazard in Kirby's Dream Course and the eleventh opponent of the Avalance Tournament in Kirby's Avalanche. In the former game, multiple Krackos could appear at once, and they it was possible to get rid of them by using the Spark ability. In Kirby's Block Ball, Kracko was featured in Stage 7. He was first had to be hit four times in the stage's Target Shooting Area before retreating to the Boss Area. There, he had to be hit four times as Kracko Jr. and then transformed into Kracko. His lightning bolts had the ability to shrink paddles. In Kirby Super Star, aside from his Spring Breeze appearance, Kracko also appeared as a boss faced in two other sub-games: The Arena and Milky Way Wishes. In the latter sub-game, Kracko was the boss of the planet called Skyhigh, and both of those appearances lacked Kracko Jr. The DS remake Super Star Ultra added new, harder forms of both Kracko and Kracko Jr. for the new sub-game, Revenge of the King. They were known as Kracko Jr.'s Revenge and Kracko's Revenge. Each form's eye was now red. Kracko Jr.'s Revenge was surrounded by dark smoky orbs, while Kracko's cloud became dark and his spikes longer.

The real Kracko did not appear in Kirby's Dream Land 3. Instead, a living painting of Kracko was deployed by Adeleine as part of her boss battle. His attacks were similar to the real Kracko, and he even deployed Co-Krackos. He was the last and most powerful of the paintings summoned by Adeleine in that battle. After his defeat, Kirby could fight Adeleine herself. Kracko later appeared in Kirby's Tilt 'n' Tumble as the boss of stages 3-4 and 6-4, where he was aided by Co-Krackos and Gordos. In Kirby's Air Ride, Kracko appeared as an uncommon item. When summoned, Kracko would target a random opponent with three lightning blasts. Kracko would make his return as a boss in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, where he was the boss of Mustard Mountain and guarded one of the Mirror Shards. He initially appeared as Kracko Jr. and transformed into his true form without needing to be battled first. In Kirby: Canvas Curse, a copy of Kracko was created by Drawcia and acted as the boss of a sub0-game called Block Attack. He appeared as Kracko Jr. in Level 1, his normal self in Level 2 and as the former followed by the latter in Level 3. He had to be hit in the eye to damage him. In Kirby Squeak Squad, Kracko was replaced by Mecha-Kracko, a robotic duplicate that was piloted by Doc. In Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kracko was turned into yarn by Master Yin-Yarn and was battled at the Cloud Palace. He first attempted to pursue Kirby in one part of the stage before disppearing. He reappeared later, accompanied by a swarm of Co-Krakos and using electricity to form a protective shield at times. He could be defeated with the Star Shooter and would shrink down several times throughout the battle before being defeated. A distant relative of Kracko's, known as Space Kracko, also appeared as a boss in the game. Within Kirby Mass Attack, both forms of Kracko also appeared as bosses in the Strato Patrol EOS sub-game.

Kracko was featured as the boss of Old Odyssey, the third world in Kirby: Triple Deluxe. He was described as making Floralia part of his territory and apparently was being fed by a "mysterious power source". Kracko originally used standard attack patterns from past games. But after half of his health was defeated, Kracko would become enraged, with his eye turning red. He would then briefly turn into a tornado before unleashing new attacks, including electric drills and massive thunderstorm attacks. After being defeated, his body would fall apart and release various random objects. He was battled again at Royal Road. In the game's Dededetour mode, a harder version known as Kracko DX was battled. That version had a green body, with differently-colored spikes and a pair of horns. In the Kirby Fighters subgame, Kracko appeared as a hazard in the Bubbly Clouds stage, and he also appeared as a proper enemy in Kirby Fighters Deluxe. In Kirby: Planet Robobot, a holographic version of Kracko called Holo-Kracko was created by the Holo Defense API and was battled at Resolution Road and Access Ark. Its attacks were similar to those in Triple Deluxe. Kracko also appeared in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, where he was battled at the Dunes and the Empyrean. In Kirbys' Blowout Blast, Kracko Jr. and Kracko appeared as bosses, as well as the Revenge versions of them that were introduced in Super Star Ultra. Kirby would fight Kracko Jr. in Level 2, Kracko in Level 4, and the Revenge versions in the EX versions of those levels. In Kirby Battle Royale, Kracko was featured in a Crazy Theater challenge where the player had to dodge his lightning, and a Kracko Hat could also be purchased within the game.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Super Smash Bros. series. Kracko has appeared as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and as an Advanced-rank Primary Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Other Media

• Kracko was featured in the fourth episode of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime, where he was one of the monsters that Dedede ordered from Nightmare Enterprises. After being summoned, he terrorized Cappy Town with a violent storm until Kirby was able to destroy him with sword beams.

Trivia

• His name is a play on the word "krackle", which is used as onomatopoeia for the sound of thunder.
• Kracko is almost always battled in an area located up in the clouds. The only exceptions are Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
• In Strato Patrol EOS, Kracko Jr. is surrounded by three orbs instead of four.